See Examples and Observations below.

Comment: We have been told that masons are most likely to insert a spare vowel into this word describing their occupation but we know others do, too. Don't you.

Need more help with these common errors?

Don't say: affidavid | Do say:

Comment: That pesky [s] before [n] again. See "bidness" and "idn't." ways way "I have a ways to go" should be "I have a way to go." The article "a" does not fit well with a plural.

Don't say: Old-timer's disease | Do say:

Comment: Tenters are frames for stretching cloth while it dries. Hanging on tenterhooks might leave you tender but that doesn't change the pronunciation of the word.

Don't say: The Caucases | Do say: The

In , several signs which have a pre-specified initial and final location can have the order of these two locations reversed in contexts which seem to be purely phonological. For example the sign DEAF, prototypically made with the '1' handshape making contact first with the cheek and then moving to contact the jaw (as in the sentence FATHER DEAF) can have these locations reversed if the preceding sign, when part of the same , has a final location more proximal to the jaw (as in the sentence MOTHER DEAF). Both forms of the sign DEAF are acceptable to native signers. (This information has not been cited. Use with caution. Please, refer to (1995, pp. 43–44), C. Valli & C. Lucas, .)

Don't say: chester drawers | Do say:

Comment: Here is another case of metathesis, place-switching of sounds. Remember, the [i] comes after the [l], as in related "folio."

Don't say: chomp at the bit | Do say:

Comment: As verbs, both words have similar meanings with "flounder" meaning to make a lot of errors or to have trouble moving; however, to "founder" is to totally fail.

Comment: Another hard-to-see [c] but it is there.

Comment: Just as "misspelling" is among the most commonly misspelled words, "pronunciation" is among the most commonly mispronounced words. Fitting, no?

Comment: Two syllables are enough for "athlete."

Comment: Haplology is the dropping of one of two identical syllables such as the [ob] and [ab] in this word, usually the result of fast speech. Slow down and pronounce the whole word for maximum clarity and to reduce your chances of misspelling the word.

Don't say: bob wire | Do say:

How prevalent is it in American English? Is it preferred over non-metathetic pronunciations ("comf-ta-ble", "com-fa-table", "com-fer-ta-ble")? Is it frequently proscribed (for instance, frowned upon in academic contexts)?